When you’ve worked hard your entire life, you deserve to be in control of your own destiny. Our experienced Michigan estate planning attorney in Howell and Clinton Township will help you create an estate plan that makes your wishes known so that you’re protected regardless of the future.
The Benefits of Estate Planning
A well-designed plan allows you to control and protect your assets while you are alive after you have passed away, and for generations to come. Depending on your particular situation, our estate planning attorney can design a customized plan that will:
- Control how and when your assets are distributed after you pass away
- Prepare wills, trusts, or powers of attorney to meet your family’s objectives
- Name a guardian for your minor children
- Name people of your choosing to handle medical and financial decisions if you become incapacitated and can no longer manage your own affairs
- Avoid the delays, lack of privacy, and frustration inherent in the Michigan probate process
- Protect your heirs’ assets against creditors, lawsuits, divorce, remarriage, and other potential problems
- Prepare in advance to protect your home and life savings from nursing home and long-term care costs
- Minimize or even eliminate estate, gift, and other taxes
- Pass your values, work ethic, and sense of responsibility on to your heirs
- Leave a lasting legacy
- Enjoy greater peace of mind
Important Parts of Your Estate Plan
A basic estate plan includes a trust, Last Will and Testament, durable powers of attorney, and the appropriate patient advocate directives.
Last Will and Testament
A will allows you to name who is in charge (a personal representative) and control “who gets what” after you pass away—including key financial assets and items with primarily sentimental value. If applicable, it also lets you name guardians for your minor children.
Remember that your will must go through probate, so it’s important to ensure you understand exactly how your plan will work for you and your family.
Durable Powers of Attorney
Durable powers of attorney allow you to name people of your choosing to make financial and medical decisions for you in the event of incapacity. Unfortunately, not all powers of attorney are created equal. More than half of the powers of attorney we review are missing key provisions—especially those that will allow your loved ones to protect your assets in the event you need nursing home care or other long-term care.
Please note that Michigan’s powers of attorney law changed in 2012. If your estate plan has not been updated recently or was not prepared by an attorney specializing in estate planning and elder law, we would be glad to review your powers of attorney documents to ensure they contain all of the necessary provisions.
Patient Advocate Directives
Patient advocate directives allow you to choose the type of medical care you want to receive if you become unable to speak for yourself due to illness or injury. In addition, universal HIPAA Authorization allows your loved ones to access medical information about your condition when needed.
Trusts
Many of our clients want to protect their assets from probate, taxes, and long-term care costs. Proper planning using irrevocable and revocable trusts allows you to maintain control while protecting your home and life savings.
One of the most common types of trusts is the revocable living trust. It allows you to maintain complete control over your assets while you are alive and after you have passed away. Perhaps most importantly, a revocable living trust also allows your estate to avoid Michigan probate.
With a revocable living trust, you can change trustees or beneficiaries, control the investments, receive the income from the trust, and empty the trust at any time—while still protected from lawsuits and long-term care costs. You don’t have to transfer your assets to the trust simultaneously. You can do so over time and even add to the trust as you acquire new assets.
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Reasons to Start an Estate Plan
Estate planning allows individuals to get critical documents in order so that their assets will be passed according to their wishes in the event of their death. Without an estate plan, these assets will be passed according to Michigan law rather than the owner's preference. While it may seem inconsequential to some, planning how your estate will be distributed will relieve your loved ones of having to endure a lengthy and expensive probate process as they settle your estate. Additionally, having a plan in place will give you the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your estate is in order and that your loved ones will be prepared to honor your wishes.
Estate planning allows you to manage your assets in a financially beneficial manner that would not be available without certain estate planning documents. For instance, without planning, your estate may be subject to tax consequences, ultimately depriving your beneficiaries of its full value. Planning now, you could place assets into a certain type of trust, which you can derive benefit from during your lifetime. These same assets can also be protected from estate tax and continue to benefit designated beneficiaries.
Another consideration is what will happen to your estate if you become incapacitated. While some believe incapacitation is something that primarily accompanies old age, a person can become incapacitated due to medical or mental health conditions at various ages. By planning for such an event early, you can ensure that your care and your estate will be in the hands of a person of your choosing rather than according to a court’s decision.
For parents of young children, an estate plan is critical in that it will help determine who will care for the children in the event of the parents’ death. Not having a plan in place may mean that the children’s care will be decided by a court rather than according to what the parents would want for their children.
5 Common Estate Planning Mistakes to Avoid
Estate planning can be challenging, and mistakes often arise from either poor planning or inadequate preparation. Here are some common pitfalls to avoid:
When Should I Start Estate Planning?
There are many reasons to consider starting your estate plan. While the necessity of such a plan may seem remote, circumstances can quickly arise which a thoughtfully prepared estate plan can be essential in addressing. Knowing you are prepared will ensure your wishes are honored and your assets are protected.
For many people, estate planning seems like something that should happen in the distant future. This perception may be especially true for young adults who believe estate planning is more appropriate for older individuals. Likewise, people who do not have significant estates or do not have small children may think that estate planning is not a priority. However, no matter your age or circumstances, the time to plan for your estate is today.
Top 5 Reasons to Meet With a Michigan Estate Planning Attorney
Glenn Matecun has been an estate planning attorney for 25 years, with offices in Howell and Clinton Township, MI. While there are various reasons why people decide to meet with an estate planning lawyer and create an estate plan, I have found the reasons listed below are the top five.
1) Understanding and Avoiding Probate After Death
Generally, Wills are probated, meaning the estate is legally divided under the probate court’s direction. While many people have never even dealt with probate, they still know one thing – they want to avoid it at all costs. By far, the most common reason why people seek out the advice of an estate planning attorney is to avoid probate. This stems from probate horror stories covered by the media or told by neighbors, friends or business associates.
For most people, avoiding probate is a very good reason to create a comprehensive estate plan and can be easily achieved.
2) Remaining in Control
The desire to remain in control is a great motivator for many people to put an estate plan together. According to our proven estate planning attorney in Howell and Clinton Township, MI, a good estate plan allows you to control your assets during your lifetime, pass your assets to your loved ones when and how you choose, and save every last dime of taxes, court costs and attorney’s fees possible.
3) Avoiding a Mess
Many clients seek the advice of an estate planning attorney after personally experiencing, or seeing a close friend or business associate experience, a significant waste of time and money due to a loved one’s failure to make an estate plan, or failing to update an old estate plan. Choosing someone to be in charge if you become mentally incapacitated and/or after you die – and deciding who will get what, when they will get it, and how they will get it after you’re gone, will go a long way towards avoiding family fights and costly court proceedings.
Protecting Beneficiaries
According to our Michigan estate planning lawyer, there are generally two main reasons why people put together an estate plan in order to protect their beneficiaries: (a) Protecting minor beneficiaries, and/or (b) Protecting adult beneficiaries from bad decisions, outside influences, creditor problems, substance abuse problems and divorcing spouses. For example, if the beneficiary is a minor, Michigan law requires a “conservator” to oversee the minor’s needs and finances until the minor becomes a legal adult (at age 18). This is what we refer to as a “living probate” and can result in time-consuming, expensive and emotionally draining court proceedings.
The other situation—where the beneficiary is an adult and has one or more of the problems listed above—requires good planning to ensure that an inheritance isn’t wasted or taken by creditors or a soon-to-be ex-spouse. Properly planning for these types of situations can prevent family discord and costly legal expenses.
Protecting Assets from Unforeseen Creditors
Asset protection planning has become a very important reason why many people, including those with an estate plan, are meeting with an estate planning attorney. Once you know or even just suspect that a lawsuit is on the horizon, it’s too late to put a plan in place to protect your assets. In addition, average nursing home costs now exceed $7,000 per month (over $84,000 per year), and many people are concerned with losing their hard-earned life savings to the nursing home.
It is best to start with a sound financial plan coupled with a comprehensive estate plan, which will protect your assets for your benefit and for the benefit of your spouse and other loved ones.
How to Find the Best Estate Planning Attorney in Howell and Clinton Township
Using the right lawyer can go a long way toward securing your family’s financial future. And while that’s all well and good, you need to know where to look. Below, we discuss finding the best estate planning attorney in Howell and Clinton Township, MI.
- Friends and Family: First and foremost, check in with the people you love the most. If you’re going to trust anyone in this world, start with your loved ones. Ask around to see if they’ve had any experiences in the past and if they have any recommendations.
- Online reviews and testimonials: Outside of your friends and family, the best way to see how effective an estate planning attorney is, is to see how they have worked with past clients. These people writing online reviews are in a similar situation as you currently are, so their opinion of the attorney can carry some weight.
- Set Up Consultations (and Ask Lots of Questions!): Many attorneys will not charge you a fee for an initial consultation. Meeting with potential hires and using your gut to determine whether they appear trustworthy and competent to get the job done is important. And while you’re meeting with them, ask lots of questions. There’s no better way to get a feel for how an attorney will conduct themselves than interviewing them. This is your family’s future, protect it, and make sure you find an estate planning attorney you can trust.
While there are other ways to find an estate planning attorney, these three tips should get you started.
Get Started Creating a Plan That Fits Your Unique Needs
Due to changing laws and the variety of circumstances generally surrounding wills, trusts and estates in Michigan, we strongly recommend that you seek legal advice from an experienced estate planning attorney that you can trust.
The earlier you begin the planning process, the more options you will have to protect your loved ones and yourself. Contact us today to schedule a free strategy session with a member of our team to discuss your particular needs and goals by clicking the button above. Consultations are available at our Howell or Clinton Township offices or anywhere in Michigan virtually. For immediate assistance, give us a call at 517.548.7400 now!
